See How They Run (2022) is a delightful little British murder mystery that was recently released on HBO Max, starring Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan in a classic Agatha Christie caper. Directed by newcomer Tom George, it has strong Wes Anderson overtones, which, if you like Wes Anderson, is not at all a bad thing. I like Wes Anderson and am always stymied by his films because he sets them in a pseudo-historical world with no fixed historical timeline, so I can’t really talk about them on this blog. See How They Run saves me from that problem by being firmly set in 1953, incorporating real historical figures like the actor Richard Attenborough. Agatha Christie (played by Shirley Henderson) even makes an appearance. The adherence to historical accuracy is pretty strict insofar as the costumes and sets go, but considerable liberties are taken with the historical characters (an irony that won’t escape our readers when one of the characters tries to placate another by stating that factual events need to be treated with respect and not just twisted for entertainment purposes).
The costumes were designed by Odile Dicks-Mireaux (most recently of Last Night in Soho fame) and reflect the wide variety of fashionable silhouettes emerging in a post-World War II world. There are full skirts side-by-side with fitted pencil skirts and smartly tailored jackets on the women. Most of the men wear suits, either tuxedos or business suits, but subtle changes in fit or styling convey loads of information about the characters’ place in society.
Have you seen See How They Run (2022)? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
I saw this in theaters and loved it! It was perfect for a cozy fall day!
It has cinema release here in NZ and it was awesome to see it on a bigger screen. I LOVED the heck out of this movie! So clever, so many easter eggs for Christie fans. so smart. Also loving that the costuming was credibly British, not heightened Hollywood. Britain was still a pretty grim place in ’53. A few concessions like WPC Stalker having her hair down and that ridiculous cake, but it felt right. 100% recommend and will watch again!
It was a lovely cosy light watch. Well worth few hours and Ruth Wilson costumes were so beautiful If I had the money I’d dress exactly like that
Never heard of it ’til now, but I definitely want to see it.
Description of Christie-meets-Anderson is spot on! Bright & fun without being too splashy, surprising depth to the characterizations of our main sleuths; a fun Sunday watch at my local arthouse theater!
This film started well but ran out of steam about half way through. I think the attempt to make a film about a play about a book etc was trying too hard and fell flat, and bringing Christie in to inadvertently poison her own butler jumped the shark for us. Fun for the first half though.
I really wanted to like this as I love murder mysteries, period pieces, and Agatha Christie! I don’t know of it was the editing or the pacing but the first half just felt off to me, it seemed to drag. The second half was better. I wonder if I am being to hard on it by comparing it to Knives Out which was so brilliantly done.